More Questions Than Answers At The Friends “Central Perk” Cafe

It was with little excitement that I entered the Eight O’Clock Coffee pop-up designed to look like Central Perk, the cafe where, for the first three seasons, Rachel frequently proved herself to be as inept a barista as Hannah Horvath . This is not the first Central Perk to emerge, though it appears to be the first in the city. A chain of Central Perks kept Friends fever alive in Dubai from 2006-2010. Entering this iteration of Central Perk, my cynicism meter was on high. I scoffed as I stood in a line with a ten-minute wait, though it was nothing compared to the opening day line, which boasted an hour wait time as if one might be greeted with frankenpastries in the shape of David Schwimmer once they finally made it inside.